Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

Second international win for Tesla radio theatre broadcast

Every Now and Then Theatre in Ventura has won an International Communitas Award for excellence in community service volunteerism and social responsibility for their radio theatre broadcast of “Nikola Tesla: Mysterious Genius.” Co-presented with Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks, NewsTalk 1590 KVTA Radio aired the one-hour production on Halloween night 2019. Every Now and Then Theatre participants are allowed only one rehearsal, then perform. All shows benefit foster kids. No one personally profits. Recently the show also picked up an International AVA Digital Gold Award for excellence in creativity and support of altruistic efforts.

Celebrity Host Rachel Reenstra joined the select cast of top local actors revealing the mysteries behind Tesla, the nearly forgotten eccentric inventor and animal lover. Reenstra is perhaps best known currently for her hosting of ABC-Disney’s four-time Emmy nominated Saturday TV show, “The Wildlife Docs.”

From the late 1800’s on, Nikola Tesla researched and developed radio (not Marconi), alternating current (A-C), vacuum tubes, the hydroelectric generator, the Tesla Coil energy transmitter, fluorescent and neon lighting, the principles of  X-rays and radar, wireless lighting, the rotary engine, remote control weapons, the basic for robotics, laser weaponry, designs for a vertical takeoff and landing airplane, and much more. Scientists today are still pouring over his papers to discover and understand more of his ideas.

Every Now and Then Theatre is Ventura County, California’s select troupe for radio drama broadcasts since 1990. Now beginning their 31st year, the all-volunteer Every Now and Then Theatre can be found by name on Facebook and maintain a website at everynowandthentheatre.com.

SEEAG in the news

Topics include how to plant an outdoor vegetable garden.

Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) was selected to receive a $55,000 grant from St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital (SJPVH) and St. John’s Regional Medical Center (SJRMC), members of Dignity Health.

The grant funds will go towards expanding SEEAG’s “Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative.” The program educates and inspires children to eat healthy by adding locally grown Ventura County specialty crops to their diet. SEEAG brings its mobile classroom van to schools where SEEAG instructors provide hands-on nutrition education to third graders. Over 2,800 students will take part in the program during the 2020 calendar year.

Each participating student receives a Wellness Swag Bag containing educational materials, produce samples, recipes and a dental hygiene kit. The grant will enable SEEAG to add a bilingual educator to the program, create five farmers market pop-ups within the targeted school districts that will provide free produce and nutritional information for families and include a jump rope in each of the Wellness Swag Bags.

“Many farmworkers’ children are enrolled in the targeted school districts. They are an important population to reach with our message,” says Mary Maranville, CEO/founder of SEEAG. “SEEAG is grateful for Dignity Health’s support of the Child Wellness Initiative, The grant is recognition that our efforts to educate children about eating healthy if very much needed in Ventura County.”

Other organizations teaming up with SEEAG to make the Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative successful are Reiter Affiliated Companies’ Sambrando Salud Program, Clinicas del Camino Real and Ventura County Public Health.

Fun, kid-friendly gardening activities from Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG)  are now available for children who are at home due to COVID-19 school closures. SEEAG, a local leader in agriculture education, conducts learning programs in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties at schools and farms where it teaches students how food is grown, healthy eating habits and proper nutrition. The program is called “Let’s Grow A Garden!”

Program lessons are now online and new lessons will be posted every Monday through summer. Topics include how to plant an outdoor vegetable garden or indoor container garden, how to select the right plants and soil, information about local agriculture and links to where families can order seeds and gardening materials online.

Co-sponsoring Let’s Grow A Garden! is Agromin. Agromin is giving away 500, 20-quart bags of potting soil (one per child), Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Follow all social distancing rules posted on site.

The program will also feature a weekly garden photo contest where students submit photos (#letsgrowagarden2020) showing the progress of their gardens with the chance to win garden-themed prizes.

No registration is required. New gardening tips and information will be posted each Monday at 8:30 a.m. on https://www.seeag.org/letsgrowagarden2020. To learn more about SEEAG, go to www.SEEAG.org.

When and what is Passover?

Passover 2020 begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 8, and ends Thursday evening, April 16. The first Passover seder is on the evening of April 8, and the second Passover seder takes place on the evening of April 9.

Passover is a festival of freedom.

It commemorates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, and their transition from slavery to freedom. Passover or Pesach is an important, biblically derived Jewish holiday. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses. It commemorates the story of the Exodus in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

Passover commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for either seven

days (in Israel and for Reform Jews and other progressive Jews around the world who adhere to the Biblical commandment) or eight days for Orthodox, Hasidic, and most Conservative Jews.

A day commences at dusk and lasts until the following dusk, thus the first day of Passover begins after dusk. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.

The rituals unique to the Passover celebrations commence with the Passover Seder.

In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape from their slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians before the Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves; the tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first-born.

The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to “pass over” the first-born in these homes, hence the English name of the holiday.

When the Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten.

Vol. 13, No. 13 – Mar 25 – Apr 7, 2020 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

County theaters suffer another loss – You!

Entertainment has reached crisis point as a result of the current health situation unprecedented in our lifetime (mine anyway). Broadway theaters are closed. Las Vegas is shutting down. Ventura County theaters are shuttering up. Now there are just empty seats in dark theaters. A great loss to patrons of Ventura County theatres is the recent closure of all the stage performances whether they were in progress or about to open.

I understand some auditions may still be held for future productions so there is hope for the future. But for now, theaters who were already struggling, appear to be in for a very hard time indeed. Just as with our homes and businesses, rent and utilities still must be paid. Most of our county theaters rely on paying audiences to do just that on a monthly basis.

One thing I have always loved about live theater (there are many) is that I never have to wonder if I will be able to “connect” -no Wi-Fi needed. I can be involved without truly being involved (that is, first having succeeded at being cast, learning the script, rehearsing for weeks, taking direction, tech week, personality clashes, giving up all weekends for several months and more). With so many staying home, out of school, working from home, or ill, internet lines are overloading, TV streaming is spotty and me randomly blurting out lines or songs from shows in my living room just isn’t the same as watching a fine live performance. Just ask anybody in my house.

Theater people are extraordinarily resilient. They live to entertain, and they will be ready and eager to come back when the air clears. The bigger question is, will the theaters be financially able to re-open?

In the meantime, there seems to be plenty of time to hone one’s skills, or perhaps take up new ones. Always wanted to write a play? Make a costume? Experiment with stage makeup? Build a stage prop? Now is a great time to get started. When theaters do reopen, you will be ready.

Kids could act out a part of their day for the rest of the family. It could be a group project. It can be re-living a funny situation or a testy one. There are plays about both. Who knows – it might even open an actual conversation!

I think I’ll go start writing something now myself. Who knows? Could be a whole new career track. Perhaps it will be about my adventures in the theater. There are no shortage of stories!

VC Women’s Day Festival

Festival committee members, representatives of Link, Incorporated and Vision 2020 promote awareness of the women’s suffrage movement in history.

by Amy Brown

The recent VC Women’s Day Festival, held on International Women’s Day, was a celebration of women’s social, political and economic contributions in Ventura County and the world, according to Junemarie Justus, founder of The Acorn Project, a local organization working to effect social change. “Hopefully this event will continue to foster dialogue between generations, and help shape the future that we all envision,” said Justus. The festival drew a huge crowd, and was held at the Museum of Ventura County and Mission Park, and featured speakers, a VC Women in Business and Leadership Showcase, film, art, musical performances, food and local brews, and yoga—all set against the beautiful backdrop of downtown.

Some of the festival’s speakers were presented in breakout Power Sessions, scheduled throughout the day, on topics ranging from “Speaking Up for Change” “Breaking Barriers” and “Leading While Female”. Dr. Trudy Tuttle Arriaga presented on the latter, which is also the title of her latest book, to a large audience. Arriaga was Ventura Unified School District’s first female school superintendent, a role in which she served for 14 years, and currently is an Associate Dean at California Lutheran University. Arriaga spoke about her 40 years as an educator, and the inequities faced during her career, from being evaluated on the way she dressed to being told to ‘act more like a man’ in order to succeed.

2020 is the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the U.S., and the event featured exhibits sharing the diversity in the trajectory of women’s suffrage movement. VC Women’s Day Festival committee member Shanté Morgan and a team of representatives from the Channels Island Chapter of The Links, Incorporated had an exhibit table with literature about the history of African American suffragists and their important contributions and challenges in working to get women the right to vote. “What I hope came out of the festival was a sense of pride in what we have achieved and purpose in what we need to do next,” said Morgan. “I also hope we were able to exchange information and recognize the diversity of the women in the movement—when it started and today.”

Many of the presentations were interactive, including one put on by Girls On Board, a community of women empowering women of all ages through skateboarding. Mel McElhose shared that the organization tries to create a welcome space for girls and women in the mostly male dominated local skateboarding community. “If you are a beginner or a woman, it’s almost like you have two things working against you at the skate parks,” said McElhose. Members of Girls On Board gave a hands-on demonstration of skateboarding techniques, including an interactive class on the lawn so participants could try it themselves, on skateboard decks with no wheels.

Deya Terrafranca, Research Library & Archives Director at the museum also expressed appreciation for the inclusiveness and success of the event. “The most meaningful thing for me was the diversity of the crowd. It wasn’t just women, it was everyone,” said Terrafranca. “I was truly touched by a grandfather touring the galleries with his teenage granddaughter. Imagine that—a teenager going to a women’s day event with her grandpa on a Saturday. Everyone was there to celebrate the achievements and value of women in our society.”

Become a guest on Our Ventura TV

Joining Sheldon Brown, Publisher of The Ventura Breeze (holding the first and latest Ventura Breeze) on the set are the show’s production team Juan Macera, Robin Sanford, Michelle Hoover, Christine Mary Bellestero and Host Sandra Siepak.

Our Ventura TV is an award-winning weekly talk show series broadcast on Ventura cable channel 6 TV and also published on the OurVentura.com website and social media networks. The series has been on the air for over a decade and as of last December over 1000 productions have been created, all available on OurVentura.com.

Anyone who contributes to the theme of “People doing good things in Ventura County” and the surrounding area is eligible to be on the show.

There are no fees for nonprofit or noncommercial messages. However, for commercial messages, there are standard production fees. Visit SkyworksMarketing.com (sponsor of Our Ventura TV) for more information.

Our Ventura TV programs are broadcast on Ventura cable channel 6 on Sundays at 2:00 pm, Tuesdays at 9:00 pm and Saturdays at noon, as well as additional floating times. Every week there is a new show and each program is broadcast at least three times per week (often 5 times per week).

George Alger, producer of Our Ventura TV states: “We welcome anyone who is contributing to the community to become a guest and tell part of their story.”

Here are a few of the upcoming shows that will be broadcast on Ventura Channel 6 in the coming weeks (as well as posted on the OurVentura.com website).

* MB Hanrahan will interview Rachael Watkins about the Ventura County Family Justice Center.

* Monique Nowlin will speak with Kiran Sahota and Peter Schreiner about the Ventura County Behavioral Health Department.

* Sandra Siepak will talk with Sheldon Brown, founder and publisher-editor of the Ventura Breeze.

* Monique Nowlin will speak with Toni Olson about the Advisory Council of the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging.

* Sandra Siepak will interview Amy Towner about the Health Care Foundation of Ventura County.

* Multi-Talented Poet, LaVette Cherie, will join us in the studio for a performance of some of her work, accompanied by Grammy-winning guitarist, Bob Tucker.

Much of the Our Ventura TV series is recorded at CAPS Media Center, right next to Ventura College. However, for more information about the Our Ventura TV programs, visit OurVentura.com, since Our Ventura TV is a wholly independent TV series produced for the Ventura County community at the CAPS Media Center facility and CAPS Media staff are not our employees.

The show’s director, Michelle Hoover, notes that “Our friendly production team will help you enjoy your visit.” Assistant Director, Robin Sanford, will often greet you first, before returning to the control room to help Michelle manage the cameras and audio. Floor Manager, Christine Mary Ballestero, will help to get the microphones placed on your clothing and get you seated properly at the table. Juan Mancera will position each of the cameras and refine the lighting to present you well.

To be scheduled as a guest on Our Ventura TV for a 15-minute segment, visit OurVentura.com and click “Contact.” Keep in mind that we are often scheduled many weeks in advance.

Don’ts and dos on Coronavirus 

by Jane M. Orient, M.D.

Some of the views expressed here are controversial. So, do ask your doctor.

Don’t panic. That is always good advice. If you, like the world’s economy, operate on just-in-time inventories, and did not take advice to stock up 3 weeks ago, do not join a mob at a big-box store. Somebody there is no doubt infected. Plus, there’s the risk of getting trampled or injured in a fist fight over the last roll of toilet paper. Most of the world survives without that luxury good. If you have no rice or beans or pasta in the pantry, that is more serious, but you should still avoid mobs if at all possible. Take-out and drive-through places are booming.

Don’t treat fever without a doctor’s advice. Fever is not a disease. It is an important defense mechanism. Very high fevers (say 105 degrees) can cause brain damage, and children can have seizures. But don’t pop Tylenol or ibuprofen at the first sign of fever. Many of the casualties in the 1918 pandemic might have been caused by heavy use of aspirin. Like aspirin, popular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) such ibuprofen also have detrimental effects on blood clotting. Try lukewarm sponge baths for comfort.

Don’t rush out and get a flu shot. I know, a lot of doctors and public health authorities urge everybody to do this. Influenza can kill you, and the flu shot decreases that risk by 30% to 60%—but there is evidence that it can make COVID-19 worse, both from the earlier SARS epidemic and lab research. Like with so many things in medicine, we have to play the odds.

Don’t go to the emergency room or urgent care unless you are severely ill. There will be sick people there, and you might catch something. You also might end up with a big bill, say for a CT scan you didn’t really need. And if you have the flu or a cold or COVID-19, and don’t need IV fluids or oxygen, they can’t do anything for you. Telephone advice lines could help greatly.

Don’t go to events that are crowded, especially indoors in poorly ventilated rooms. Staying home is good.

Don’t touch your face or your eyes.

Don’t fall for internet scams, or malware. Hucksters will always be around to try to profit from panics. A new type of malicious virus is embedded malware in sites that come up on a search for information.

Do prepare to take care of yourself and your family. Be sure you have a fever thermometer, disposable gloves, plastic garbage bags, and cleaning supplies. A pulse oximeter, available in many places for around $40, is good to have to check oxygen levels.

Do clean and disinfect surfaces such as doorknobs, telephones, computer keyboards, toilets, and countertops often. Virus can persist there for days.

Do wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer. With SARS-CoV-2, most disinfectants work, including 70-percent-alcohol-based sanitizers.

Do get your essential prescriptions refilled for 90 days.

Do protect your immune system, with adequate sleep, exercise, fresh air, and diet.

Do help your neighbors, and be responsible about protecting others as well as yourself from contagion.

The runaway hit music of Ventura’s Olivia Willhite

Her success has been thrilling and fairly sudden.

by Amy Brown

16-year-old Olivia Willhite has been surfing most of her life and has been making music since age six. This petite blonde powerhouse is a sophomore at Ventura High, and is now getting international attention for her song Runaway Man, which has over 2.5 million streams on Spotify. She recently performed her self-described beach pop music at an acoustic showcase at Bombay Bar & Grill to a packed house, along with another singer/songwriter from Ventura High, Shannon David, and the group Somatic. The event was to engage young people and up and coming local youth musicians, and to celebrate Willhite hitting (at that point) 2 million views on Spotify. Willhite started singing jazz and opera early on and had performed in two professional children’s operas by age nine. She has written more than a dozen original songs, and started the work on Runaway Man when she was in 8th grade, as a part of a year-long project called Project of Your Heart’s Desire (PHD) through Ventura Charter School.

Her success has been thrilling and fairly sudden, according to Willhite. “I had no expectations and no idea that it would become this successful at my age,” she shared. “It wasn’t really what I intended when I first put out my music, I put it out just to create–I love creating music. It’s definitely till evolving.”

Willhite was born in Honolulu, and her family moved to Ventura in 2005. She started surfing competitively in the last few years, and also competes on the Ventura High surf team, the Makos. “I love Ventura and its surfer, skater culture and I love beach music so much,” says Willhite. “Everyone here is pretty friendly and laid back and accepting. It’s kind of like the ocean, it doesn’t care what you look like or where you come from, you’re just in the water with the birds and fish and dolphins, doing your thing like they are. My mom always tells me my music makes her feel like she is on vacation—I think that is a cool compliment.”

Willhite’s mother, Rebecca Willhite, said “Watching her music climb the Spotify charts has been unreal. One day a famous Tik Tok kid posted her song and Olivia and her friends went crazy! Her songs are in 75 countries and played daily all over the world. It’s amazing!”

Willhite intends to continue making and producing her heavily Hawaiian-influenced music in a local Oak View music studio, and plans to keep exploring other genres and musical hybrids, including a possible future disco song featuring the ukulele. Asked what her future career plans might include, she replied, “Right now, my biggest goal is to make more music. I would love to make a career out of music if I could, but right now my goal is just to keep writing and creating. But, if Jack Johnson asked me to go on tour right now, I wouldn’t say no!”

Fighting Chance is based on a true story

For an autographed copy, email [email protected].

Boxing is more than just an escape from the chaos of the streets or the baggage of what’s behind to those who find their way into the gym, and ultimately, the ring. Boxing can be the road – and has been for many over the generations in hard scrabble America – to the way in life.

That’s the story shared by Ventura resident Alicia Doyle in her nonfiction memoir Fighting Chance, chronicling the young journalist’s unlikely emancipation from her life’s hardships through immersion into the “sweet science” of boxing.

“The book takes us back to the childhood and life that gave rise to her inner demons, through her amateur and brief pro boxing career, and the two decades since she hung up the gloves,” said Brent Weber, author of The Sports Guy: Scorecard Scribblings From An Ordinary Journalist.

Based on a true story, Fighting Chance is written by an award-winning journalist who discovered boxing at age twenty-eight in the late 1990s when she went on assignment at a boxing gym for at-risk youth called Kid Gloves. For two years, Doyle simultaneously worked as a newspaper reporter while training and competing as a boxer, making her one of only a few hundred women in America who infiltrated this male-dominated sport. During her boxing career, she won two Golden Gloves championship titles and earned three wins by knockout – and her pro debut at age thirty in the year 2000 was named The California Female Fight of the Year. Fighting Chance offers an inside look at what’s considered the toughest sport known to man.

Fighting Chance features “excellent dialogue and heartfelt memories, with a journalist’s passion for the hard, honest truth about life, and how boxing helped her through tough times,” Weber said.

“Fighting Chance is highly recommended to any adult or young adult,” said Weber, noting that there is profanity, just like you would hear in a boxing ring, so it’s not for tender ears. “Boxing fans will love it, but so will anyone, particularly any woman, who wonders which way to look when knocked down to the canvas.”

Doyle is a shining example of an individual who continues to fight to save herself from the dark side of life by mentoring troubled young children at Kid Gloves, said producer and director Rod Holcomb, adding that “she is their guiding light, a light that doesn’t often shine for them. Fighting Chance is exactly that, a chance to survive in the ring and in life. A must read.”

Layla McCarter, an eight-time, five-division Boxing World Champion and California Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, said that Fighting Chance is “absorbing and brilliant.”

“Over 22 years ago I shared the ring with Alicia Doyle…twice,” said McCarter, whose bouts against Doyle are featured in the novel. “Fighting Chance transported me back to relive those experiences from her perspective. It was amazing. I highly recommend this book.”

Fighting Chance is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For more information, visit https://aliciadoyle.com/. For an autographed copy, email [email protected].

Fourth Annual Ventura County Ag Week honored the importance of farmers and ranchers

The six Excellence in Agriculture honorees. Photo courtesy of Totally Local VC and Viktor Budnik Food Photography

From March 9th through March 15th Totally Local VC Agricultural Foundation presented its fourth annual Ventura County Ag Week, a celebration of all that our county’s local farmers and ranchers do. Despite the challenges facing the world, many of the weeklong celebrations continued as scheduled.

The week kicked off with a resolution from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors proclaiming March 9th – March 15th as Agriculture Week in Ventura County. On Tuesday the sold out “Excellence in Agriculture Awards Luncheon” honored agricultural leaders from field to fork, including Rancher of the Year Bud Sloan, Farmer of the Year Helen McGrath and Chef of the Year Kelly Brigilio of Paradise Pantry. Other honorees included Educator of the Year UC Cooperative Extension Hansen Agricultural Research Center, and Sustainability Award winner Scott Deardorff of Deardorff Family Farms.

A special Agricultural Hero Award was presented to Phil McGrath of McGrath Family Farms. “This award is so significant and special to me,” commented McGrath. “Being called an ‘Ag Hero’ in Ventura County validates everything I’ve strived for as a farmer; to work with the soil and its own biology, to work with my team and reward them to my best ability, and to educate the community about real food from the Oxnard plains.”

Another highlight of VC Ag Week was Wednesday’s Ventura Chef Association Tasting Event with abundant appetizers made from locally grown food prepared by Westmont College, Fresh & Fabulous, La Dolce Vita, Naval Base Ventura County, Ventura County Rescue Mission, and Four Brix Winery. Also, during the week, an intimate “Meet the Farmer and Rancher Mixer” and the popular Historic Oxnard Farm Park BBQ and Tour were held. Meanwhile, local restaurants, wineries, brewers and purveyors featured locally grown and raised menu specials throughout the week in support of “Eat Local ~ Hug a Farmer.”

While many VC Ag Week activities continued, due to COVID-19 the student tours and Exploration of Agriculture Careers event were cancelled for the health and safety of all students.

“We had over 275 attendees join us across all events throughout Ventura County Ag Week this year,” commented Kat Merrick, Founder and President of Totally Local VC Agricultural Foundation. “It’s an honor to celebrate the true stewards of our local land – farmers and ranchers, who are raising and growing more on fewer acres and protecting our county’s precious soil and water resources.” Ventura County Ag Week’s goal is to highlight and honor the important role that agriculture plays in our lives. Many of Ventura County’s founding agriculture families remain today with the next generation carrying on the family farming and ranching legacy.

Ventura County Ag Week is generously supported by many wonderful sponsors and businesses. Please take a moment to get to know them – https://www.totallylocalvc.com/ventura-county-ag-week-2020/

Totally Local VC is a collaborative initiative focused on promoting the importance and success of our local agriculture and business community. We are dedicated to educating our youth and community members on the important role business and agriculture plays, not only in our county but in the world, and the many links each of us has to small business and agriculture. Simply put Totally Local VC educates, advocates and celebrates local agriculture to bring stronger awareness for and collaboration with our local farmers, ranchers, purveyors and businesses. www.totallylocalvc.com – 805-222-6542